Teaching is not just a matter of standing in front of a class and distributing knowledge to a group of learners. Teaching is a much more complex procedure that requires educators to consider a variety of educational components in order to maximize a learner’s true potential. Teachers are responsible for catering to the needs of a group of learners with a range of needs, and therefore have an obligation to meet the needs of learners with differing levels of ability, knowledge, understanding, pre-exposure and background using a variety of strategies including scaffolding. Teacher’s also need to consider the varying speed at which students learn, and then be able to provide for all learners regardless of their learning pace and ability as well as understanding the development of a learner’s understanding in education environments and then being able to adapt the learning activities to meet the needs of their students. This essay will discuss teaching concepts including the concept of The Zone of Proximal Development as well as scaffolding concepts to assist with learning.
The Zone of Proximal Development is an educational concept developed by Russian psychologist, Lev Vygotsky defined as “the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under guidance or in collaboration with a more capable peer” (McKellin et. al, 2011) which “stems from the identification of a strong need for adaptation of the learning activities, both traditional classroom and modern e-learning ones, to the present state of a learner’s knowledge and abilities” (De Marsico, Sterbini and Temperini, 2013.) The concept of the Zone of Proximal Devel...
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...rrissey, A. and Brown, P. (2009). Mother and toddler activity in the zone of proximal development for pretend play as a predictor of higher child IQ. Gifted Child Quarterly, 53(2), pp.106--120.
Journal
Rubinstein-Avila, F.
Scaffolding Content and Language Demands for "Reclassified" Students
In-text: (Rubinstein-Avila, 2014)
Bibliography: Rubinstein-Avila, F. (2014). Scaffolding Content and Language Demands for "Reclassified" Students. Voices from the Middle, 20(4), pp.32-33.
Journal
Shabani, K., Khatib, M. and Ebadi, S.
Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development: Instructional Implications and Teachers' Professional Development.
In-text: (Shabani, Khatib and Ebadi, 2010)
Bibliography: Shabani, K., Khatib, M. and Ebadi, S. (2010). Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development: Instructional Implications and Teachers' Professional Development. English language teaching, 3(4).
5. Gibbons, Pauline. Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: teaching second language learners in the mainstream classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2002. Print.
Let’s take a minute and pretend we are in the middle ages where schools are for wealthy men, or religious patrons. No one is learning to read or calculate math problems, they simply existed. But then how were humans able to advance in such ways we thought would be impossible back then? Well the answer is simple people advanced emotionally and socially before they did mentally. In the emotional aspect people went from arranged marriages that were considered only business propositions to falling in love and marrying someone because they are your soul mate. We also were able to advance and spread new ideas around the world by talking to others at the market or around town. One idea from a simple peddler could have been spread to a knight who
Humans are, by nature, filled with curiosity. We incessantly seek to learn about the universe. Not surprisingly, we simultaneously strive to learn about ourselves. What is our place in the world? How do we grow into the people we are meant to be?
In conclusion, theories of development have vastly affected how facilitators, teachers, lecturers and many others think with regards to individual’s development. As the emergent teacher I see it very important for teachers such as myself to know and understand the views of the different theories of development and used it as a guide in planning appropriate lessons and getting children actively involve in the teaching and learning process.
Shabani, K. Khatib, M. Ebadi, S. (2010). Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development: Instructional Implications and Teacher’s Professional Development. 3(4), December, 2010. English Language Teaching: Tehran, Iran. Retrieved from http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/view/8396
Shabani, K., Khatib, M., & Ebadi, S. (2010). Vygotsky's zone of proximal development: instructional implications and teachers' professional development. English Language Teaching, 3(4), 237-248.
There are five ways in which Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and Vygotsky’s theory of the Zone of Proximal Development. The very first way that teachers can use these theories to teach constructively is by providing scaffolded instruction within the ZPD for their students (292). In other words, a teacher must be able to assist children in achieving a goal that may be slightly too difficult for them to reach alone. An example of this would be if a teacher had decided that her class should do an experiment on how well plants grow based on the amount of water they receive, she could challenge her students to make a hypothesis about what they think will happen. This teacher could allow her students to individually plant their seeds and then guiding her students to predict or hypothesize what they believe will happen if one plant gets more water than another. This example directly correlates with Vygotsky’s idea of ZPD because
...Fein, G. G. 1981. Pretend play in childhood: An integrative review. Child development, pp. 1095--1118.
Thomas, Wayne P., and Virginia P. Collier. "Two Languages are Better Than One." Educational Leadership (Dec.97-Jan.98): 23-26.
Piaget And Vygotsky are two new psychologist that forces on the influential theory of cognitive development. Cognitive development is the growth of mental abilities from early childhood to the adult age. This process can help children learn about life skills and language to have a better cognitive development. They both took roles in children, roles of people in society to develop different skills. Both theories affect education in various ways for substantial growth. In this essay, I will focus on the difference in each approach, similarities and gain the better understanding of each theory standpoint.
...s theory of Zone of Proximal Development, and utilize the classroom from top to bottom.
Scaffolding is metaphorical term which refers to the process through which teachers facilitate children’s learning by enabling them achieve a level of ability beyond the child’s current capacity. Through scaffolding, teachers play an active role by interacting with children to support their development by providing structures that support them to stretch their understanding or me...
Omaggio, Alice C. Teaching Language in Context. Proficiency Oriented Instruction. Boston: Heinle and Heinle. 1986
Van Der Stuyf, R. R. (2002). Scaffolding as a Teaching Strategy. Adolescent Learning and Development, Retrieved from: http://www.sandi.net/20451072011455933/lib/20451072011455933/RTI/Scaffolding%20as%20a%20Teaching%20Strategy.pdf.
Zone of proximal development basically refers to the skills in which children can do only if they are under the guidance of an adult. For example, if a task is too difficult or dangerous for a child to perform then the assistance of a parent or teach can make that task possible for the child. Object permanence is also another important concept which states the child knows an object is still in existence even if another person hides it behind their back for example. Next there is conservation which says that just because the appearance changes, the amount and quantity does not change. This concept has been shown through children as researchers will place objects, such as playing cards, in front of children then reorganize the object and the child is able to observe that there are the same number of objects as there were before. Also there is the concept of scaffolding. Scaffolding goes back to a teacher or parent assisting a child in which case the adult matches guidance to what the student needs. This can be seen in schools where a teacher will explain a problem-solving process then will step back in order for the child to conquer this problem on their own. The cognitive development theory plays a huge role in the human life showing step by step how we develop